Why Zagreb needs a local guide
Zagreb is split between the medieval Upper Town (Gornji Grad) and the Austro-Hungarian Lower Town (Donji Grad). The funicular between them is 66 meters long, making it one of the shortest in the world. The city has more museums per capita than you'd expect, including one dedicated entirely to failed relationships.
Zagreb gets bypassed by millions of tourists each year who fly in and immediately head to Dubrovnik or Split. The ones who stay discover a city that runs on coffee culture and quiet confidence. There is no Adriatic coastline here, no Roman palace, no Game of Thrones. What Zagreb has is Dolac Market under its red umbrellas every morning, the world's shortest funicular, a Museum of Broken Relationships that somehow makes you laugh and cry in the same room, and a cafe culture on Tkalciceva Street that can stretch a single macchiato into a two-hour conversation. To become a tour guide in Zagreb means championing a city that does not shout for attention. You walk people through Gornji Grad where St. Mark's Church has a tiled roof that looks like a medieval emoji, then down to Donji Grad's Austro-Hungarian grid of green parks and art nouveau facades. On weekends you take them to Jarun Lake where the whole city gathers to swim, cycle, and eat cevapcici at lakeside grills. If you want to become a tour guide in Zagreb, you need to make people cancel their coastal bus and stay an extra day. Becoming a tour guide in Zagreb is about proving that the city everyone skips is the one they should have started with.